Paying for the Hidden Costs of Graduate School

By: Caitlin Heikkila, Community Manager at GoEnnounce.com

Being a graduate student can be expensive. At times you may feel buried in tuition fees, textbook and housing costs. Before you decide to take on additional debt you may want to explore your fundraising and fund savings opportunities.

Graduate students have many options for raising additional funds to pay for the expenses of graduate school. Programs may offer evening classes enabling students to work part or full time while pursuing their graduate degree. Others may have opportunities for students to serve as research or teaching assistants, still other programs may offer fellowship opportunities to help subsidize graduate school costs. If you can find a paid internship you may have the opportunity to earn money and experience in your field.

One interesting new way to get access to some extra cash flow and keep in touch with your friends and family is to create a profile on the website GoEnnounce.com. GoEnnounce is a social network and source for crowd-funding. It is a web site where students can share their academic achievements and goals, AND request financial assistance from friends and family. Users are invited to create a student page and “ennounce” their latest grad school updates to their supporters. Students can create a “mission” to raise funds online for a specific expense. It could be $300 for textbooks, $1000 for tuition, or even $50 for computer software.

In addition to looking for opportunities to earn money while attending graduate school, students can also research opportunities to save.

Many schools and web sites now offer students the option of renting their textbooks which may greatly reduce spending on school supplies. Students attending an on campus program can eliminate the cost of buying a new computer or laptop by taking advantage of campus computing centers. In many cases tuition costs include an allowance for making copies and printing from the campus computer labs helping you spend less on ink toner and copy paper. Finding a roommate and splitting the costs of rent, utilities, cable, and even food may help you cut down on your living expenses. This may mean sacrificing some privacy but the savings may be worth it – and who knows maybe you will get a new friend out of the arrangement as well! Find free entertainment! Chances are your campus has a series of fun and free events scheduled throughout the year, save your money and blow off some steam at the same time, campus events are not only for the enjoyment of undergraduates!

If you do your research and you put on your creative problem solving thinking cap you may be able to discover interesting opportunities to earn and save money while in graduate school.

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